Weft-replenishing loom.



S. S, JACKSON. WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1908.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

UNITED s rarn SIMEON SCI-ICON JACKSON, OF R-EADVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO THE STAFFORD COMPANY, OF READVILLE, BIASSAGHUEIETTS, ACQRPORAT'ION OF NE'W JERSEY.

WEFT-REPLENISHING LOOM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMnoN SoHooN JACK- soN, a subject of Great Britain,residing at Readville, in the county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in eft-ReplenishingLooms, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention has relation to weft-replenishing looms of the class inwhich replenishment is effected by replacing the working shuttle on thelay by a fresh or reserve one.

More particularly the invention has relation to looms of the types inwhich the ejection or discharge of the working shuttle from the lay, andthe feeding of the fresh or reserve shuttle to the lay to take the placeof the former, are provided for by opening one or both shuttle-boxes ofthe lay by raising the front-plate or front-plates thereof, the closinbeing efiected subsequently by the return of the elevated front-plate orfront-plates to the normal position. Examples of looms in which thisoccurs are shown and described in the United States Letters Patent to H.I. Harriman, No. 626,834., dated June 13, 1899, and No. 636,228, datedOctober 31, 1899. In the said patents the ejection and discharge of theworking shuttle and the feeding of the fresh shuttle are both performedat the feeding end of the loom, and accordingly the front-plate of theshuttle-box at that end is made vertically movable by being attached tothe forwardly-extending arms of a rocker which is mounted in bearings atthe rear of the shuttle-box. The rocker is actuated to move the rockerto raise the front-plate so as to open the shuttle-box at the propertimes in the working of the loom by actuating devices in connection withthe rocker, and is closed by gravity usually aided by a spring, onechief function of the latter being to hold the frontplate steadily inplace in its closed position during the swinging movements of the lay.I-Ieretofore the spring employed has been a spiral spring, one extremitythereof being engaged with one arm of the rocker or a projectiontherefrom, and the other extremity being engaged with a hook, stud, orthe like, conveniently carried in fixed position on the lay.

The invention consists in a front-plate and its rocker having combinedtherewith a form of spring not heretofore used in such combination, andconstituting an improvement upon the Spring-arrangement heretoforeused..

The invention is illustrated. in the drawings, in which latter,-Figure 1shows in side elevation portions of the frame and lay of a loom, afront-plate, rocker, and mechanism for actuating the rocker to raise thefront-plate, with the invention applied. Fig. 2 is a detail view showingseparately, the lay-beam, a bracket attached thereto, the rocker,front-plate, and novel spring in conformity with my invention. Fig. 3 isa plan of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

Having reference to the drawings, an endframe of a loom is shown at 1,and at 2 is represented a portion of supplemental frame-work designedfor the support of certain parts pertaining to the weft-replenishingmechanism. The crank-shaft is indicated at 3, one of the layconnecting-rods at 4, and one of the lay-swords at 5, the laybeam beingdesignated 6. The front-plate of the shuttle-box at the end of the loomwhich is represented in the drawings is designated 7, one of therocker-arms to which it is attached being shown at 8, the rocker itselfbeing marked 9, one of the rocker-supporting stands or brackets on thelay being designated 10, and the rod applied to the said stands orbrackets and upon which the rocker is sleeved being shown at 11.

Fig. 1 shows one end of the change-shaft 12 and the devices intermediatethe same and the rocker for o crating the latter to raise thefront-plate for the purpose of opening the shuttle-box, such devicescomprising the cam 13 that is fixed upon the change-shaft, the lever 1 1actuated by the said cam and mounted upon the pivot 15 projecting fromthe supplemental framing 2, the connecting-link 16 having the lower endthereof joined pivotally to the forward extremity of lever 14:, and therod 17 having its upper end joined pivotally to the rearwardlyprojecting arm 18 of the rocker and the upper end of connecting-link 16secured to its lower end-portion- In conformity with my invention Iprovide a leaf-spring 19. In the drawings this is bent or bow-shaped sothat it resembles the letter U. One forwardly extending branch thereofis made fast at its extremity by the screw or bolt 20 to a horizontalshelf 21 forming a portion of the supporting stand 10. The bend or bightof the spring projects rearwardly, and the other branch is extendedforward, its free extremity taking bearing upon one of the rocker-arms8, against which it exerts a downward pressure. lVhile the front-plateoccupies its closed position this pressure holds the lower edge of thefront-plate against the upper surface of the shuttle-race, and operatesto prevent vertical. shifting movement as the lay swings to and fro.\Vhen the changeshaft acts, through the devices which have beendescribed, to turn the rocker to raise the front-plate, the swingingmovement of the rocker-arm operates to raise with it the upper t ranchof the spring 19, and as the upward swinging movement of the rockerarmprogresses the free extremity of the spring slips upon the rocker-arm alittle farther from the axis on which the rocker swings. Consequently,in the elevated position of the rocker and front-plate the spring actswith greater leverage upon the rockerarm, thus giving it the greatestetl'ect in beginning the subsequent closing movement of the rocker andfront-plate, so as to start the said movement promptly, the leveragedecreasing somewhat as the rocker and front-plate approach their closedposition, in consequence of the extremity of the spring slipping on therocker-arm toward the pin otal axis.

By making the spring l9 in bent or U- shape I am enabled to convenientlyemploy a leaf-spring of sufficient length to obviate liability of thespring becoming set by the extent of the opening movement 01 the rockerand front-plate, and thereby being rendered unfit tor service. Thespring may vary from the precise shape shown.

I claim as my invention In a loom, in combination, the lay, a

rocker thereon provided with a front-plate, and a bent U-shapedleatspring fixed by one extremity in relation with the lay, and engagingby its free extremity with the rocker to close the same and thefront-plate and hold them from movement as the lay swings to and fro.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SIMEON QCHOOIY JACKSON. lVitnesses CHAS. F. RANDALL, EDITH J. ANonRsoN.

